From market stalls and country shows to innovative dog products and online shopping, Dogs & Co has come a long way since 2001. And we’re not finished yet!
Where It All Began
Our story actually begins before Dogs & Co existed.
It started with a small family pet supplies business, established by my stepfather, selling at markets across North Wales and the North West of England. There were early mornings, plenty of travelling and, inevitably, the unpredictable British weather.
Then came the Cheshire Shire Horse Show.
It was our first proper show, and something of a revelation. We discovered the wonderful world of agricultural and country shows, with their bustling showgrounds, friendly atmosphere and, of course, dogs everywhere.
We saw the light and never looked back!
In 2001, my mum and I took over and established Dogs & Co. By then, the business was predominantly attending county shows, with the occasional horse show thrown in for good measure.
Back then, our main products were dog beds. Over time, we expanded into collars, leads and accessories, including our own range of leather products, which we gradually developed and refined.
Little did we know quite where the next 25 years would take us.
Life on the Show Circuit
For much of our history, Dogs & Co has been a familiar sight at shows around the country.
At our busiest, we attended an incredible 44 shows a year. That’s an awful lot of early mornings, miles on the road, loading and unloading, and standing in fields in every kind of weather Britain can throw at you.
But it also meant meeting thousands of customers and their dogs, building relationships and learning first-hand what dog owners actually wanted.
Over the years, our focus gradually shifted from agricultural and county shows towards the equestrian world, where Dogs & Co became a regular fixture.
The show circuit also gave us something invaluable: the opportunity to listen to our customers.
In fact, one of our best-known products, the UniWalker, came about following a chance conversation with a customer nearly 20 years ago. A clever idea, a little ingenuity and a few improvements led to a product that has since become a firm favourite.
But that’s a story deserving of its own blog!
When Everything Changed
By 2020, horse shows had become the mainstay of our business.
Then Covid arrived.
Almost overnight, the show circuit disappeared. Events were cancelled, plans were abandoned, and the way we’d operated for nearly two decades was suddenly no longer possible.
Like so many small family businesses, we had to adapt.
We concentrated on developing our online business, finding new ways to reach customers who could no longer visit us at shows.
At the same time, Brexit brought additional challenges, particularly when it came to sourcing and supplying products.
We began moving away from many of our own-brand ranges and introduced a wider selection of products from other manufacturers.
Wherever possible, we chose British brands, particularly smaller independent businesses offering innovative, unusual or genuinely useful products.
We also began working with some of the larger British pet product suppliers. Many of those relationships continue today, and some have developed into much more than business partnerships. Over the years, collaborators have become friends, and friends have become family.
Through all these changes, one thing remained constant: every product we sell is personally selected by us.
We look for quality, practicality, originality and products that offer something worthwhile. We’re not interested in stocking something simply because everybody else does.
Dogs & Co Today
Twenty-five years later, Dogs & Co is still very much a family business, run by the same mother-and-daughter team who established it in 2001.
We still enjoy meeting our customers face-to-face, although our show calendar has reduced from its peak of 44 events to around 15 each year.
Our online shop has opened up a much wider world. What began as a small business selling pet supplies at markets in North Wales now reaches dog owners around the globe, with a particularly strong following in the United States and Australia.
It’s quite a journey from those early market stalls to having customers on the other side of the world!
And wherever our customers are, we continue to offer the same carefully chosen products and personal service that have always been part of Dogs & Co.
The Next Chapter
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re returning to something that has always been an important part of our history: developing our own products.
We’re introducing new, exclusive Dogs & Co ranges, focusing on original ideas, innovative designs and products that fill genuine gaps in the market.
And first up? Something a little Obnoxious!
Our brand-new Obnoxious range has been quietly taking shape behind the scenes. We’re keeping the details firmly under wraps for now, but we can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on.
We’re hoping to open pre-orders in mid-November, ahead of its anticipated arrival in December 2026. And when the time comes, we’ll be sharing the full story right here on the blog.
That’s just the beginning, with more original and exclusive Dogs & Co products planned for 2027.
After 25 years, we’ve still got a few surprises up our sleeves!
We’re taking everything we’ve learnt from 25 years of meeting customers, listening to their experiences and discovering what works, and putting it into the next generation of Dogs & Co products.
Some things have changed enormously since 2001. Others haven’t changed at all.
We’re still a small, independent family business. We still choose our products ourselves. And we’re still convinced there’s always room for a clever new idea.
To everyone who has supported Dogs & Co over the years, from those who remember our earliest show stands to customers discovering us online for the first time, thank you.
Here’s to the next chapter.
And perhaps a few fewer 4am starts!
Check out the new stuff we added this year already!
